UTHSC College of Medicine Magazine - Summer 2019 by University of Tennessee Health Science Center

SUMMER 2019

MEDICINE

Educating Mind, Body, and Spirit

“The Alvin H. and Alva J. Crawford Medical Scholarship not only significantly reduces my financial burden, but it also serves as a reminder that there are others rooting for my success. To them I say, ‘You are more than appreciated. Your contribution to my tuition goes beyond the numbers, because it emphasizes the importance of supporting your own.’ ” Kiyah Anderson Alvin H. and Alva J. Crawford Medical Scholarship recipient

Scholarships help students like Kiyah succeed. Meet some other scholarship recipients on Page 16.

JOIN THE MISSION alumni.uthsc.edu/give | 901.448.5516 UTHSC Office of Development and Alumni Affairs

< Briefs

Congrats to the PA program for gaining 10-year accreditation!

LEADERSHIP UTHSC Chancellor Steve J. Schwab, MD Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operations Officer Kennard Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE Robert Kaplan Executive Dean, College of Medicine Scott E. Strome, MD, FACS

A look at some of the many accomplishments by faculty and students in the CoM

Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs Love Collins, III, MBA Senior Director of Development, College of Medicine Kelly Davis Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs Chandra A. Tuggle

Easing the Burden >

CoM works to reduce student debt

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Sally Badoud Editor Peggy Reisser

< Being Well

Designer Adam Gaines Writers Peggy Reisser Jackie Denton Amber Carter Photographers Allen Gillespie Natalie Brewer Peggy Reisser Jay Adkins David Roseberry Madeline Raudat Jackie Denton

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admissions without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status. Eligibility and other terms and conditions of employment benefits at The University of Tennessee are governed by laws and regulations of the State of Tennessee, and this non-discrimination statement is intended to be consistent with those laws and regulations. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, The University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the University. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), ADA (disability), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Equity and Diversity (OED), 910 Madison Avenue, Suite 826, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, telephone 901-448-7382 (V/TTY available). Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at the Office of Equity and Diversity. E073201(002-200039)

New programs encourage physical and mental well-being

Class of 2019 >

We are proud to send 158 new physicians out into the world!

12 < Reconnecting

Past and future meet at AfricanAmerican Medical Reunion

From the Dean Since I arrived in Memphis less than a year ago, I have been constantly amazed by the strength of our college in each of the four facets of our mission – clinical care, education, research, and community outreach. I am committed to seeing the UTHSC College of Medicine continue to advance in each of these areas. However, because we are the state’s public, academic health care institution charged with training the next generation of health care professionals, much of my focus has been on our students. We graduate approximately 170 amazing new doctors each year, roughly 40 percent of whom establish their practices in Tennessee. Additionally, we train approximately 1,300 residents and fellows, roughly 60 percent of whom stay in the state after their training. The College of Medicine is critical to the health of Tennessee and beyond. Yet, we face several challenges. First and foremost is the issue of medical student debt – debt that now exceeds $190,000 for a typical graduate. This debt is almost certainly a barrier to application and is in stark contrast to our vision to welcome and educate every single student who has the intellect, drive, compassion, and merit to become a physician into our training programs. In this issue of Medicine magazine, we showcase some of our recent academic accomplishments, shine the spotlight on our inspiring students, and honor our outstanding alumni. We are grateful for all you do for your alma mater and ask you to join us in supporting our students and the mission of the UTHSC College of Medicine.

Scott E. Strome, MD, FACS Robert Kaplan Executive Dean of the College of Medicine

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

BY THE NUMBERS

FULL CLINICAL CAMPUSES

(MEMPHIS, CHATTANOOGA, KNOXVILLE AND NASHVILLE)

1150 700 681 54

FACULTY

ANNUAL GROSS REVENUE

$235 MILLION IN SPONSORED PROJECTS

STAFF

MEDICAL STUDENTS

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS

1130 103

$620 MILLION

$44 MILLION

IN RESEARCH EXPENDITURES

$390 MILLION IN FAMILY PRACTICE REVENUE

RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS

ACGME TRAINING PROGRAMS

Presidential Address UTHSC’s Altha Stewart wrapped up her year as president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) by presiding over the organization’s 2019 annual meeting in San Francisco in May. In her President’s Address, she urged the 38,000-member organization to continue to focus on treating the whole person, to be involved in current issues affecting mental health across all ages and incomes, and to redouble its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession. Born in Memphis, Dr. Stewart is the first AfricanAmerican to lead the APA. She is an associate professor of psychiatry, director of the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth, and chief of Social and Community Psychiatry in the College of Medicine at UTHSC. “I’m totally excited as a community psychiatrist about the fact that we are focusing more of our attention, more of our training, more of our professional development on understanding the impact of social determinants of mental health and actually seeing the role for psychiatry in addressing those things,” she said.

PA Podcasts Kristopher Maday, MS, PA-C, program director and associate professor in the Physician Assistant Program, has launched a successful podcast geared toward PA students. The “Physician Assistant In Education” (PAINE) podcast revolves around a blueprint topic for the PA National Certification Exam. In addition, he has partnered with other PA educators across the country to create and host “Airwaves and Educators,” a podcast focused on helping new educators transition from clinical practice.

Anesthesiology Residency Accredited A new anesthesiology residency program has been accredited in the CoM. Steven Boggs, MD, MBA, FASA, CPE, FAACD, professor and chair of Anesthesiology, said the program will provide a focused and supportive residency experience. The inaugural cohort of residents will start in July 2020. “I know there’s a tremendous demand for anesthesiologists in the Mid-South,” Dr. Boggs said. “I think we will be filling a very important niche.”

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A New Role Jon McCullers, MD, has been named interim senior executive associate dean of Clinical Affairs and chief operating officer for the College of Medicine. Executive Dean Scott Strome, who is vice chancellor for Clinical Affairs for UTHSC, said Dr. McCullers will be a partner in directing the college’s clinical development. Dr. McCullers retains his positions as chair of Pediatrics at UTHSC and pediatrician-inchief at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Academic Leadership

PA Program Accredited The Physician Assistant Program has received a 10-year accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. “The commitment of the faculty, the commitment of the College of Medicine, and the commitment of the preceptors for our students enabled us to meet the highest level of accreditation,” said Stephanie Storgion, MD, FAAP, FCCM, a professor of Pediatrics and chair of the PA program.

War on Addiction John B. Woods, MD, is the new medical director for the Center for Addiction Science. Dr. Woods is a graduate of the UTHSC College of Medicine and is board certified in addiction medicine. The Center for Addiction Science was launched to combat the addiction epidemic in Tennessee. In 2016, it was named the first Center of Excellence in Addiction Medicine in the country by The Addiction Medicine Foundation, now the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine.

Natascha Thompson, MD, is the new associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, and Michael Whitt, PhD, is the associate dean for the Office of Medical Education and chair of the Department of Medical Education. Dr. Thompson had served as the program director of the Medicine-Pediatrics Residency program for 14 years. She joined UTHSC in 2003. Previously, Dr. Whitt served as a professor and chair for the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry. He joined UTHSC in 1991.

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

Friendly Competition

A Productive Meeting

First-year students were divided into learning communities, or houses, for the first time in 2018 as part of the college’s MPOWER program. The learning communities will follow and assist them from orientation to graduation. Students from the MPOWER houses – Conyers-York, Crawford, Diggs, and Seddon – faced off in the inaugural MPOWER Trophy Cup Tournament in May. The competition featured a three-point basketball tournament, dodgeball, tug-of-war, a scrub relay, and obstacle courses, along with food trucks, inflatables, and a DJ. The Diggs House won the MPOWER Trophy Cup.

UT Interim President Randy Boyd, center in gray jacket, met with medical students when he was in Memphis in April to talk about increasing medical residency slots in Tennessee. Representing a statewide student task force on the subject, CoM student Jennings Dooley, in orange jacket, invited Boyd to campus. The students also offered Boyd ideas for increasing the ranks of medical graduates who practice in rural areas of the state.

Dreaming BIG More than 50 middle and high school students came to UTHSC in January for the fifth annual Dream BIG conference, a free community outreach event hosted by UTHSC’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA), shown here. The conference helps Shelby County students develop skills, such as leadership, professionalism, cultural competency, and more, through fun workshops and educational activities.

Take a Second Look A new Second Look Visit program instituted by Executive Dean Strome gave applicants accepted to the College of Medicine a chance to make a second visit to Memphis April 12-13. Prospective students got information about what to expect their first year, learned more about the college and the Memphis community, and met current students and faculty during a brunch at the dean’s home. The second visit aims to increase matriculation of accepted students into the college.

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Caring for Physician and Patient A curriculum titled, “Art of Integration: Caring for Physician and Patient,” was designed to offer medical students an opportunity to recognize through art and reflection how selfcare and well-being will impact their futures as physicians. Sessions are held monthly for all Chattanooga medical students at the Hunter Museum of American Art.

Classroom to Clinic The annual Student Clinician Ceremony took place in early May in the StudentAlumni Center, in Memphis, marking third-year medical students’ transition from the classroom to the clinic. The M3s also took the Student Doctor of Medicine Pledge.

Cradle of Health A new multidisciplinary student service organization aims to bring awareness to health care needs of people from African countries now living in Memphis. Cradle of Health will sponsor service projects to address barriers to health care, mentor the African youth in Memphis, and encourage the pursuit of health care professions. “We want the members of this organization to be willing to get into the community and work in order to improve the health status of African people physically, mentally, and emotionally,” said Hanna Akalu, shown here, a fourth-year medical student and Cradle of Health founder.

A Helping Hand The CoM Class of 2021 and 2022 had a T-shirt fund-raiser to benefit Josiah Brandt, an incoming classmate diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma before he could start classes. The students raised $2,591 through donations and the sale of a T-shirt bearing the theme of “One Community.” The funds went toward helping Brandt, at right, cover the costs of his cancer treatments. “The theme of One Community is that we are UTHSC – we all support each other,” said M2 Theresa Borcky.

Gold Humanism Honor Society Chattanooga leads the statewide Gold Humanism Honor Society chapter for UTHSC. Induction ceremonies were held in May for 27 thirdyear students. Students also recognized 25 residents and faculty with awards for teaching excellence in the 2018-2019 academic year.

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

Luke and Christina Hunley graduated from UTHSC in May and are beginning their professional careers carrying significant debt from their education. While they are confident they have planned well to repay the debt, they recognize other students and graduates may not be in the same position.

Reducing Student Debt By Peggy Reisser When Christina and Luke Hunley walked across the stage to accept their degrees, an MD for her and a DDS for him, the clock started ticking on more than $660,000 in student loan debt they estimate they carry as a couple.

The debt doesn’t keep them up at night. “The plan is to refinance to get a lower interest rate and pay it off in five or six years,” said Luke, 29. Everything that isn’t essential will be deferred in favor of paying off the loans.

Christina, 26, has roughly $20,000 in undergraduate student loans. The pair took out about $45,000 each for the master’s in pharmacology program as a way to get into medical and dental school. The rest is for their medical and dental degrees.

At UTHSC, debt at graduation now averages $196,000 for medical students. For College of Medicine leaders, that amount is not acceptable, and they are mobilizing to reduce it.

In June, Christina began a pediatric residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which pays about $53,000. Luke works in a Birmingham dental practice with a first-year salary of $130,000 and much potential for growth.

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

“The UTHSC College of Medicine has an obligation to provide an affordable, high-quality education and graduate our students without oppressive debt,” said Robert Kaplan Executive Dean Scott Strome. “Students from all financial backgrounds should be able to attend

the College of Medicine, receive tremendous training, and leave able to make career choices based on their passion for a specific medical discipline, rather than the fear of being unable to repay massive student loans.” Dean Strome has teamed with faculty, alumni, and community leaders to formulate plans for a student debt initiative. It will focus on improved financial literacy training for students, new policies to address tuition and debt, and increased fund raising for student scholarships. Financial literacy programs will be introduced for the class entering this fall, with added training for all current students and residents. A fund-raising plan for scholarships has been drafted and will be implemented. “We are investigating all avenues to reduce our students’ debt and will be pursuing enhanced financial training and changes in policy,” Dean Strome said. “More scholarships will ultimately determine our long-term success. Scholarships allow every student who is meritorious to attend the UTHSC College of Medicine, independent of financial status.” Second-year medical student Jay Patel, 22, said receiving a scholarship to the College of Medicine “was the best thing that ever happened.” His parents came to America from India in 1994 and manage a Crossville, Tennessee, hotel, in which the family lives and works. He would not have been able to pursue his dream of practicing in family medicine or internal medicine without the scholarship. He will still face debt from necessary loans when he graduates, but nowhere near what it would have been. This eliminates a lot of stress, he said. Average Medical Student Debt at Graduation • $196,000 In the Works •P ossible adjustments in out-of-state tuition rates • Philanthropic program for scholarships • Focus on student financial literacy

Second-year medical student Jay Patel wants to go into family medicine or internal medicine because he enjoys working with people and having continuity of care. He also desires to care for the underserved. Patel believes reducing student debt will help him and others choose the specialties that best fit them, regardless of income potential.

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New Mind-Body Program Helps Students Be Well By Peggy Reisser J. Alex Pulliam has been a regular in mind-body fitness classes on campus since she started medical school at UTHSC in 2018. “I know I don’t perform well when I’m tired, either physically or mentally,” she said. “Mind-body classes help me with both. They allow me to stop thinking about medicine and let my brain rest, leave me proud of myself for my physical effort, and give me just the right amount of exercise to help me get a good night’s sleep. Because of mind-body classes, I am not only a happier student doctor, but a better one, too.” In the future, there will be more opportunities for Pulliam, her fellow medical students, as well as students from colleges across campus to practice mind-body wellness. A new Mind Body Wellness Center is under construction on the second floor of the Student-Alumni Center on the Memphis campus. It will include a fully equipped studio for yoga and barre classes, a Pilates studio for mat classes, STOTT PILATES® Reformer and other equipment, a meditation studio, and office space. It will also feature

nutritional information, book clubs, and speakers on various aspects of well-being. “It gives me incredible fulfillment to provide opportunities for people to learn what helps them be the best version of themselves,” said Kimberlee Strome, who is the director for the new center. “I want to create opportunities for students and staff to find balance and a sense of well-being in their lives, so they do not burn out when they are taking care of people.” She is working with the Office of Student Academic Support Services and Inclusion (SASSI), which last year launched the #takecare program, an initiative designed to support the emotional health and well-being of students by focusing on early intervention to help them successfully cope with the demands of pursuing an advanced health science degree. The Mind Body Wellness Center, which will be open initially to students, and eventually also to faculty and staff, builds the mission of health for all on campus. Kimberlee Strome is the wife of CoM Dean Scott Strome. She has a master’s degree in education and has taught school. She directed a Pilates studio, has been an instructor and trainer for STOTT PILATES®, and was a teaching manager for eight YogaWorks studios. She designed the YOGAhike program, which mixes standing yoga strength and balance poses with rigorous walking. In April, the Stromes led a YOGAhike at Shelby Farms in Memphis for CoM students. She plans more in the future for students and others across the various colleges. Supporting Students •T own Halls: Students invited to meet with the dean periodically to voice concerns or issues •S tudent Lunches: Weekly lunch with dean and CoM leaders open to CoM students • Curriculum updates •P ossible adjustments: In admission guidelines and tuition for out-of-state students

College of Medicine students enjoyed the first YOGAhike in Memphis in April.

A Great Match! On March 15, the College of Medicine joined medical schools across the country in celebrating Match Day 2019.

THE NUMBERS • 157 matched in PGY1 positions; 1 is doing an Orthopedics Fellowship prior to residency •~ 90% Matched in the first round, the rest in the supplemental match •4 4% Remaining in Tennessee (95% in UT System) •3 4% Of those in Tennessee (54) will be in Memphis • 42% Chose Primary Care specialties

THE RESIDENCIES INCLUDE: • 21.5% Medicine/Internal Medicine • 12% Peds • 12% Surgery (includes Neurosurgery, 1; Plastic Surgery, 1; and Orthopedic Surgery, 6) • 8% Family Medicine • 6% Emergency Medicine • 6% Anesthesiology • 5% OB • 4% Psychiatry • 4% Neurology • 4 students Ophthalmology • 4 students Radiation Oncology • 4 students Pathology • 3 students Otolaryngology • 2 students Dermatology • 2 students Child Neurology • 2 students Urology • 1 student Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation • 1 student Interventional Radiology

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

Congratulations to the Class of 2019! • 158 received their MD degree May 31

Board Pass Rates

• 3.55 Average GPA

•9 6% USMLE Step 1 first-time pass rate with average score of 229 (in line with national average)

• 7 with 4.0 GPA • 90% graduated in 4 years • 1 0% have joined other classes or chosen different careers •8 matriculated with an earlier class and took a Scholar’s Year for research or a Master’s in Public Health • 1 from an earlier class entered the PhD program and earned an MD/PhD • 1 earned a dual Oral Maxillofacial Surgery/MD degree

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•9 8% USMLE Step 2 CK first-time pass rate (above national average of 97%) • 97% USMLE Step 2 CS first-time pass rate (above national average of 95%) • 1 00% first-time pass rate for 2018 PA graduates on Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam

Scholarship Made Medical School Possible By Jackie Denton Wesley Slaven remembers the day he received notice of his estimated financial aid for medical school. During his shift as an emergency medical scribe, he learned he would be $10,000 short to pay for the estimated cost to attend his first year at the UTHSC College of Medicine. “It showed $42,000 in federal loans, $7,500 for my merit scholarship, and $10,000 short of what the estimated cost for the year was,” Slaven said. “I remember calling my mom after my shift, crying because I was so unsure of how I would be able to pay for medical school. It was frustrating getting so far and then coming to this roadblock.” A native of Oneida, Tennessee, Slaven decided to visit his mom two days after their phone conversation. She mentioned a letter was waiting for him from the Office of Admissions. “I opened the letter that literally changed my life,” Slaven said. “I’d gotten my scholarship bumped to what was

essentially a full ride. I read it over three times before I could talk. I was physically shaking. My mom finally asked what it said, and when I told her, she hugged me and told me that I was finally going to be where I had been working to be for all of those years.” The letter was for a scholarship funded through the Austin and Lauren Fite Family Scholarship. The scholarship was established in 2017 by UTHSC College of Medicine 1971 alumnus Austin Fite, MD, and his wife, Lauren, to assist students who would not otherwise be able to attend medical school due to the costs. Dr. Fite practiced internal medicine with his wife, a physician assistant, in the Los Angeles, California, area until his retirement. “Many of my former classmates had a diminished school experience, because they had to work when they needed to be spending the time learning medicine instead,” Dr. Fite said. “Many of them graduated from school saddled with debt, and unfortunately, this burden often caused them to choose jobs based on potential salary, rather than go into less-lucrative positions that were more in line with their passion and talent. It has been gratifying to see our first scholarship recipient, Wesley Slaven, thrive at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, knowing that he can put all of his energy into medicine, without significant financial challenge or distraction.” Now, as a third-year medical student on the College of Medicine Knoxville campus, Slaven is at the top of his class. “I went from one day not knowing how I was going to pay for something that I’d been working years to attain to the next day, them telling me they were going to help me pay for it – I couldn’t even believe it,” Slaven said. “I stay in touch with Dr. Fite and I tell him I don’t have the words to thank him enough. The fact that they thought I was worth that investment is very humbling.”

“ The fact that they thought I was worth that investment is very humbling.” Scholarship recipient Wesley Slaven, M3

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Thank You Notes from Scholarship Recipients

Madison Kahl

Justin Lomax

Navila Sharif

Tammar Williams

“It’s no secret that medical education is a major time and financial investment. And while my classmates and I are absolutely grateful for the educational opportunity here, the cost can be a weight on our shoulders that’s carried long after we leave here. Receiving the Sam Houston Sanders scholarship is like someone coming in to help carry that weight.”

“I would like the donors to know that their gifts are appreciated immensely. Their contribution is more than a dollar value — it is unspoken support. I hope the donors know that they are a huge part of my education and a part of my UTHSC family. Their generosity inspires me to do the same for other students one day and help foster the sense of community that makes UTHSC so unique.”

“The Dr. W. H. Pistole Scholarship has allowed me more financial flexibility while in medical school. I have been able to take out fewer loans, which has decreased my worries about repayment and postgraduate plans. I am able to focus on classes and extracurriculars and keep my options open regarding specialties. I have utilized the scholarship money toward tuition costs and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to do so.”

“I would like the donors who supported my scholarship to know I will forever be grateful for the tremendous amount of generosity they have shown me through their gift. I plan to use this gift to follow in your footsteps and support future students who need someone in their corner rooting for them and letting them know that there are people who believe in their potential.”

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Outstanding CoM Alumni for 2019 Four outstanding alumni will be honored during the annual Alumni Awards Dinner August 22, at the Memphis Westin Beale Street. The 2019 honorees are William Mariencheck, MD; Eugene C. Mangiante, Jr., MD; Peter Whitington, MD; and Donald Barker, MD.

William Mariencheck, MD

Dr. Mariencheck, a former division chief and clinical associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine at UTHSC, has practiced medicine for more than 50 years. Specializing in critical care medicine and pulmonary disease, he has been involved in many professional organizations, including the American Lung Association of Tennessee, the Tennessee Thoracic Society, the Memphis Academy of Internal Medicine, the Sarcoidosis Research Institute, and the Will Rogers Memorial Foundation. He is an internist at Mid-South Pulmonary Specialists, PC, in Memphis.

Eugene C. Mangiante, Jr., MD

Dr. Mangiante has practiced medicine for more than 40 years. He is a professor of General and Acute Care Surgery at UTHSC and chief of Surgery at the Memphis VA Medical Center. He has been involved in organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, the Harwell Wilson Surgical Society, Alpha Omega Alpha, Memphis Surgical Society, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and many more.

Peter Whitington, MD

Dr. Whitington has been Professor Emeritus of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University since his retirement in 2017. An accomplished transplant surgeon and scientist specializing in pediatric hepatology, Dr. Whitington served as director of Organ Transplantation at the Siragusa Transplantation Center at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital of Chicago, where he launched the pediatric transplant program. His research focuses on the clinical, complex mechanism of liver injury and preventive treatment of gestational alloimmune liver disease. He has received numerous awards and has written more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, over 100 chapters, and has lectured in 17 countries.

Donald Barker, MD

Dr. Barker is an accomplished surgeon who specializes in trauma and critical care. He is a professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga and medical director of the Level 1 trauma center at Erlanger Medical Center and the Life Force Air Medical Service. Dr. Barker is also an instructor and scholar, giving numerous lectures and teaching basic and advanced trauma life support courses to health care professionals. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 scholarly articles.

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The Past Supports the Future at CoM African-American Alumni Reunion By Peggy Reisser

A breakfast conversation in a Nashville restaurant gave birth to a historic event that took place on the UTHSC campus in late April.

reunion banquet and received an award recognizing his legacy as a trailblazer in the college and his distinguished career in medicine.

The inaugural UTHSC College of Medicine AfricanAmerican Alumni Reunion weekend April 26-28 drew 120 alumni members and guests. They came to Memphis from Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, New Jersey, Texas, Mississippi, Illinois, Oklahoma, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee for the gathering that honored the past and looked to the future.

“Our first UTHSC College of Medicine African-American Reunion was a tremendous success, highlighting our history and serving as a foundation for our future,” said Executive Dean Scott Strome. “Particularly meaningful to me were the personal stories of how so many of our graduates rose above covert, overt, and structural racism to make substantive and ongoing contributions to medicine. With this background, many of our AfricanAmerican alumni are now hoping to give back by mentoring our future students and helping us to better engage the communities we are privileged to serve.”

In 1964, Alvin Crawford, MD, was the first AfricanAmerican to graduate from the College of Medicine. He returned to his alma mater as the keynote speaker for the

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

The reunion helped support the College of Medicine Diversity Scholarship Endowment to assist current and future African-American students of the college in order to minimize the debt that accompanies medical education. Ryan Mire, MD, (CoM ’98), pitched the idea of a reunion to Love Collins III, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs, in 2017. A Nashville internal medicine physician, Dr. Mire was asked to set up an organizing committee to assist the university’s development office. Jessica Ruffin, MD, (CoM 2000), a Memphis OB-GYN, co-chaired the event. Fund-raising for the diversity scholarship also began. “This event was conceptualized and built around a dual purpose: a reunion celebration and building a stronger diversity scholarship pool for future first-year students,” Collins said. Planning for the next reunion in 2021 is underway. To learn more about the College of Medicine Diversity Scholarship Endowment contact the UTHSC Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at 901.448.5516, or to contribute visit giving.uthsc.edu/COMDiversity.

“ It made me very proud to see the number of African-American alums who came back to celebrate this reunion and to see the different generations that we had represented in that room. It was an amazing sight.” Ryan Mire, MD, co-chair

“ I think this allowed people who had very positive memories of the UT medical program to come back and share those experiences and also give back so that other people in the future will have those experiences.” Jessica Ruffin, MD, co-chair

UTHSC COLLEGE OF MEDICINE | SUMMER 2019

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Memphis, TN Permit No. 4026 Office of Development and Alumni Affairs 62 S. Dunlap, Suite 500 Memphis, TN 38163 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

SAVE THE DATE! CoM Events for 2019

CoM Alumni Weekend August 22-24, 2019 Westin Memphis Beale Street, UTHSC Memphis campus, other locations

alumni.uthsc.edu

Golden Graduate Homecoming Oct. 16-18, 2019 UTHSC Memphis campus

COM Surgery Residents Reception October 28, 2019 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress San Francisco

901.448.5516